Vietnam: Ministry of Health to Crack Down on E-Cigarettes

Last April, Vietnam’s deputy head of the Ministry of Health’s Legal Department Tran Thi Trang, said that the department would be proposing a ban on the sale, production and import of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

Earlier this year, Le Thi Thu from Health Bridge Canada in Vietnam, had expressed concern over the increase in teen vaping whilst quoting numbers from the US. She said that from 2011 to 2018, the US saw the number of teenage vapers rise from 1.5% to an alarming 27.5%.

Sadly however, she left out the fact that this increase in vaping has corresponded to a decrease in smoking. Thi Thu had added that in Vietnam 1.1% of the population vape, pointing out that the country has yet to issue any e-cig regulations.

Failing to differentiate between tobacco products and e-cigarettes

Meanwhile during the recent seminar, the Ministry of Health called for a crackdown on e-cigarettes and urged the ministries of Public Security, Culture, Sports and Tourism and Information and Communications, as well as the General Department of Customs, to strengthen inspections into the products.

Vietnam’s Tobacco Harms Prevention and Control Law, which came into place in 2013 had banned the advertising, trading, and transportation of tobacco materials. However, pointed out Tran Thi Trang, despite current regulations on tobacco products e-cigarettes are still circulating. “However, there still exists the use of these products as well as illegal trading, advertising in the country,” she said. “And this is an alarming problem.”

Vietnam WHO rep. claims that vaping is gateway to smoking

Meanwhile, speaking at another seminar held earlier this year, on new-generation tobacco regulations held by Vietnam’s Ministry of Health, Nguyen Tuan Lam, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam, had inaccurately stated that e-cigarettes are encouraging teens to start smoking.

Lam had cited a study which allegedly found that the number of teens who vaped before switching to smoking had more than tripled. Interestingly the vast majority of scientific research indicates the exact opposite, but sadly the WHO remains set on its rigid nonsensical stance. This is tragic when considering that data from countries where vaping is fully endorsed for smoking cessation such as the UK and New Zealand, confirm that it is excellent for smoking cessation.

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